'"

p ------------------------------------------------------------------~

:::r.::

~ HISTORY: Newspapers played a

:::; pivotal role in the formation and ::c growth of the United States. The

!2 history of the newspaper industry :::r.:: tells-the story of how the concept ~ of [oumolism and the meaning of Ii: news evolved.

a:.

:w:: INDUSTRY: Concentration of

V ownership in the newspaper industry is altering the way news is covered. This chapter looks at who owns today's papers, how they are staffed, and what changes are occurring in readership patterns.

CONTROVERSIES: Two challenges facing loday's newspaper industry are how to practice good journalism in an era of corporate ownership and how to bring diversity into newsrooms.

70

chapter

The Secret life of Jayson Blair Jayson Blair seemed to be doing everything right on fast-track career in newspaper journalism. He certai followed all the rul~s for breaking into a media corea as listed in Chapter 1 of this book. He took every jour nalism course he could, he had numerous internships and part-time jobs at local papers and other news organizations, and he had a series of mentors and contacts in the Field who helped him get established. Smart, energetic and ambitious, he was described as a charismatic young man with an "electric smile."

In both high school and college (Liberty University and then the University of Maryland) the Virginia native served as an editor on the school newspaper. While at Maryland, he interned at both the Boston Globe and the Washington Post.

• •

fill •

•

Ii •

• • •

Jayson Blair, fired for plagiarism and journ fraud, explains himself on Larry King Live.

At the age of 23, fresh from dier missing in Iraq. When the the book you are now reading.
the University of Maryland, Blair Times' editor looked into this alle- was the kind of coverage that t
found himself at the New York gation, he found not only that Times usually reserves for cata-
Times, which is widely accepted that article had indeed been pla- clysmic events of global impor-
to be the most powerful, and giarized but also that 36 of the tance. The editors of the paper
/ best, newspaper in the world. <, 73 articles Blair had submitted called the incident" a low point'
/
/
/ His career at the Times could be in the previous few months the 1 52-year history of the news
/
/ described only as meteoric. He contained similar types of pla- paper." The publisher called it II
moved quickly from intern to cub giarism, factual errors, and huge black eye."l
reporter to full-time staffer to na- fabrications. In an interview with News'
tional reporter. In less than three One of Blair's favorite forms week magazine, Blair said: "I
years he had published 600 arti- of deception was to not reveal his can't say anything other than t ::
\
cles. His stories even began to re- whereabouts when he was report- fact that I feel a range of erno-
ceive front-page placement when ing. He had been using his cell tions including guilt, shame, sa
the Times' management assigned phone and laptop to make it seem ness, betrayal, freedom and
him to cover the Washington as if he was jetting around the appreciation for those who ha -
"_/
sniper case i,n the fall of 2002. country on assignment while he stood by me, been tough on me
Blair, however, was telling was actually not traveling at all. and taken the time to uridersto
friends that he was feeling over- He wrote some stories from the that there is a deeper story and
whelmed by the pressures of his Times' newsroom when he was not to believe ev;erything they
job. He was drinking and doing supposed to be on the road. read in the newspapers."?
drugs. But somehow he kept pro- When confronted by the Critics pointed out that Blai
ducing article after article. editor, Jayson Blair resigned had already done more than
And then the unimaginable immediately, but the Times' his share to make sure that
happened: The editor of a Texas .investigation proceeded. In May people would increasingly be
paper contacted the editor of the 2003 the results of that inquiry skeptical about what they read
Times, complaining that Blair had appeared as a l4,OOO-word In newspapers. ',II •
plagiarized one of his reporters' story, which is approximately the
stories about the family of a sol- same length as a full chapter of o reaction to Jayson Blair's deceptions show how important jour-

bIegrity is to the editors of the New York Times. They recognize that and other newspapers are culturally powerful because readers - they say and because other media follow their lead. Workdays at :;ae\-ision, and Web newsrooms around the world begin with the staff ""'-"_~~_ snd quoting from "the papers." In the United States, those papers in~ Xeu. York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, and the Wall - mal. Even the writers for television's late-night comedy programs

~~ work day by scanning newspapers, which is interesting when _~~_ er that more than 20 percent of young people use these programs - _: their main sources for news.'

~. the editorial offices of most major newspapers keep their teleespecially during breaking news. And their computer terminals ~= news services throughout the business day. But who influill the world of the news media is not a chicken-or-egg type of _"-::._~. ~e process starts at the newspapers. Even the subjects of maga_Jl,'::'-",,::-::: and movies often start out as newspaper "articles. News gather_ newspapers do. A major newspaper employs far more news

_,-"""",, editors than other media outlets do. The Los Angeles Times, for

ploys a few thousand people in a news-gathering capacity, __ with the few hundred at CNN or NBC. Most Internet news ser""'"'= :JQ more than a dozen or so employees,

_;: pter takes an in-depth look at the self quiz

-'"'---c ==orld of newspapers. First, it examines What is meant by the statement "Newspapers

_ 01 this medium, a history that helped :::.__:: media are today. It then analyzes the .t:::JiIU:l~l0.- industry, which is reinventing itself to meet changes in its

__ ---'-=_ .... Finally, it looks at some of the controversies that occur in this in-

- versies based on business and societal changes and what they

~ changing relationship between newspapers and their readers.

lead the news process"?

rief History

Newspapers

_~illres, town criers were the first deliverers of news. This tradition ...-ill::! the ancient Greeks and was well established in early colonial

1iIrle::;w... The town crier was often a well-educated and respected member .:nmmunity who would read the news in front of a tavern and then ~ a doorpost. This is the derivation of the expression posting a notice, ~ ~ why so many newspapers today are called the Post.

-r-n criers didn't think too much about what was and wasn't newshouted out what their leaders told them to. Answers to the basic "'t;_~J;::n of journalism-What is news?-developed with the growth of the ~r industry.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) as a young printer's apprentice. Illustration by an unknown artist, early 20th century.

74 PART 2 The Print Industries

THE FIRST NEWSPAPERS

The first newspaper probably appeared in China, printed from woodcuts, more than 1,200 years ago. News at that time consisted of bits of wisdom from religious leaders and official notices of government decrees, directed toward a few dozen wealthy merchants and members of the imperial court. In Europe, Johannes Gutenberg's printing press, developed in the 15th century, eventually allowed documents of all kinds to be mass-produced, and Gutenberg's fellow Germans pioneered newspaper production in the early 1600s.

As other European countries began developing newspapers in the following years, the word news came to mean information that a large audience would be interested in-although a "large audience" at that time would be 100 or 200 literate people in a good-sized city. By the 1640s, newspaper editors had discovered the sales potential of human interest stories, and Italian newspapers were already covering local fires and murders. These papers sold for a small coin called the gazetta, which is where we get the word gazette that some newspapers use in their names.

THE NEWSPAPER IN EARLY AMERICA

By the time the newspaper arrived in America, editors and legislators were already arguing over both the nature of news and its regulation.

America's First Newspaper:

Benjamin Harris was a bookseller and publisher in London who got in trouble with the authorities for selling religious pamphlets. He spent two years in prison before moving to America. His "newes-paper," Publich Occurrences both Forreign and Domestich, which he began publishing in Boston in 1690, was the first newspaper in America (though it lasted only one issue)." As if predicting the interactive news media of the future, Harris printed stories on only three pages of his four-page paper. The fourth page was reserved for readers to add their own news before passing the newspaper on to others.

_ r was arguably also the first tabloid. Publick Occurrences ::::::::::ber of articles that today's National Enquirer would be proud _= stories about a kidnapping, a suicide, and a fire, as well as a E the king of France of sleeping with his son's wife. The colo,....-,-..=- .... r not pleased, closed down Harris's paper, thus treating the :.. had been treated in England. In fact, in England newspapers "_"""""""-'- outright from 1632 until 1641 and

_ zurolled long thereafter so that they self quiz

-_ nothing that would upset the king. What was America's first newspaper, and how

long did it last?

ews-Letter

,-~,.=; .s Boston News-Letter, the first American paper to last more than ~ed in 1704. Campbell, the postmaster of Boston, started by

::_::; aewsletter by hand and sending it to subscribers. When he had - . ers to service by hand, he made a deal with a printer and s-Letter was born. Although Campbell barely made a profit he had a secure monopoly with the only paper in the colonies ~. the Boston Gazette was published in 1719.

ment Control: dSeditious Libel Laws

'eas-Leuer was published by authority of the colonial govern:::.eant that Campbell had a license to publish. Everything he ::.-:::::titted to local authorities before it was printed, and had he ~ they didn't like, he would have lost his license. Licensing =- just a few years, but the authorities found another way to =-co They established seditious libellaws, which made it illeatory or potentially inflammatory remarks about the gov- members. Several colonial publishers spent time in jail

of Early American Newspapers

_ 'etrs-Letter; like most early American papers, was published -- me first daily newspaper didn't appear until 1784, after the d won its independence from Great Britain. The weeklies

_ c-L four pages long because paper was expensive, and difficult the type had to be set laboriously

_ were also relatively expensive at a self quiz

...... ~-- - copy, so community opinion lead- Describe the characteristics of early colonial

;; ~ tekeepers, would buy them and ,.... - aloud at the local tavern.

newspapers.

expensive, early American papers tended to be inaccurate beo • hers were basically printers, not reporters or editors. They anything that seemed to them like news, including rumors. - information they could find was usually hopelessly out of lion was slow in those days, and communication was tied

:.::z:;;.5Jl_ ortation. It could take several weeks for a ship to arrive with __...,,,,,,,,,.ud, and news from around the colonies arrived with traveljug stagecoaches.

seditious libel laws Laws established in colonial America that made it illegal to criticize government.

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 7S

self quiz

The Zenger Case and Freedom of the Press

Before the American Revolution, royal authorities continued to crack dow] on newspapers that spoke out against the government, but a milestone u press freedom occurred in 1735 with the trial of John Peter Zenger. Zenge was the publisher of the New York Weekly, a paper that liked to point out thi failings of the royal governor of New York, William Cosby. Zenger accuse the governor, among other things, of stealing land. Most of what Zenge published was true, but the law of seditious libel made any criticism of tlu government and its agents illegal, whether it was true or not. In fact, trw criticism was often considered more libelous than the false kind.

When Zenger was put on trial, his lawyer argued that no matter what tlu law said, it ought to be permissible for a newspaper to publish the truth. Th jury agreed with him and went against the law by finding Zenger not guilty This established the idea that, as far as the American settlers were concerned

newspapers had the inherent right to publish the truth about government actions. This idea became officially sanctioned in 1791, in the First Amend ment to the u.s. Constitution, although it was ng fully realized in practice for many years.

Why was the Zenger case important to. 'the development of, press freedom?

This hand-colored woodcut depicts a protest in colonial New York opposing the Stamp Act, which levied a tax of

1 cent on every copy of

every newspaper.

partisan press Newspapers owned or supported by political parties.

mercantile press Newspapers that provided news of business and shipping.

76 PART 2 The Print Industries

Women in Early Newspaper Publishing

While John Peter Zenger was in jail awaiting trial, his wife, A~ Zenger, took over as publisher of the New York Weekly. In doin~ so, she became one of a handful of women who became promil nent in colonial publishing. Women of the time were not encouraged to work outside the home, but newspapers were genera family businesses and women could become unofficial apprenj tices by helping out the men in their family. Often they proved t be more adept at publishing than the men, and when they had t take over, as Anna Zenger did, some of them achieved considerable success in terms of both profitability and quality. Newspapet publishing therefore became one area that led, albeit slowly, t women's changing roles in American society.

Newspapers and the American Revolution

By 1765, the colonies had more than 30 newspapers, most which formed a partisan press-that is, newspapers owned or support - by political parties. The partisan papers chose one side or the other about is sues related to the American Revolution and the formation of the new tion.> Political parties, including the Whigs, who resented British control a favored independence from Britain, and the Tories, who were loyal Britain, each owned their own papers and had their own readers. A small but thriving mercantile press provided news of business and shippin Both Whig and Tory newspapers tended to decry the commercial restrai that had been placed on the colonies by the mother country. British rulers did not want the colonies to develop industry; it wanted them to remain dependent on England for manufactured goods. Printers, suffering from scarcity of presses and type, were quick to point out that these limitatiors had been imposed by Parliament but that Americans had no voice in tOO: governing body. The cry of "no taxation without representation" might nev have been heard without the printers.

,:;;;z!iru)t taxation without representation reached a peak with the e Stamp Act in 1765. This act levied a tax of 1 cent on every ewspaper. Publishers saw the act as an attempt to put them _~~ Parliament repealed the tax the following year, after rioting ich the governor's house was burned. But repealing the act :he colonial editors; the great majority of them were now desire for independence.

Flames of Revolution

"'''''''''''''_'"'_ .... pers fanned the flames of what eventually became the _ tion. They played a major role in publishing the clandestine patriots such as Thomas Paine and Samuel Adams that ad_,t':unent for independence. Furthermore, much of the fervor for ~uraged by the sensationalized coverage of early confronta-=-- :he British and the colonists. When an unruly Boston crowd ~ ~pof British soldiers who in turn fired on them, killing five, ..::r "Boston Massacre" in the colonial papers, an act of pure evil, ~. g mob became innocent bystanders.,

self quiz

What role did the newspaper industry play in

po- ~ new country was being formed,

ers were opposed to the idea of a zovemment. Alexander Hamilton,ID'_ ....... ~_ and John Jay wrote a series of es~:-"'-'-_'."U"'" the concept of the new federal government and published _ _.___, ~ everal New York newspapers. These essays came to be Federalist Papers. They were extremely important to the _"-"_"", ?fOCess, as they helped convince citizens of the importance of democratic central government. Many believe the U.S. ld not have been ratified without them.

the new nation?

the American Revolution ~nd the formation of

THE CONCEPT OF NEWS

continued well into the 1800s. Gradually, however, edirredible papers began to standardize their definition of news. .-=::h page, for example, became the place for properly labeled

"""""_ Rumor, innuendo, and political propaganda began to disap- bard news of the front page, which was made up of stories

-......, .......... e=ents that had an impact on people's lives. Feature news,

.-: sott news, was not necessarily either current or important; it ::::me toward human interest and curiosity.

.... --_-:":&~ .. of the Ethnic Press

, which is made up of newspapers aimed at particular cul:::.:::h as African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, - portant role in the history of the United States.

federalist Papers

Essays that explained the new federal government to early Americans.

editorial page

Section of newspaper reserved for statements representing the opinion of the newspaper.

hard news

Stories about current events that have impact on people's lives.

feature news

Stories directed toward human interest and curiosity; also known as soft news .

ethnic press

That part of the newspaper industry aimed at particular cultural groups.

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 77

Foreign-Language Press

Early ethnic papers were published in foreign languages for immigrants people already living in territories into which the United States Benjamin Franklin published one of the first German-language np'''TC<-Vl in 1732. The first New Orleans newspaper, Moniteur de Ia Louisiane,

published in Frenci: in 1794 The first newspaper in Texas; La 6ace/u; appeared in 1813, was printed in Spanish. By 1914 there were some 1,3' foreign-language newspapers in the United States.

Native American Press

Despite the existence of some foreign-language papers, the press often disregarded the poorer cultural minorities whom advertisers little interest in reaching. The Native American press began as a reaction this lack of coverage in 1828 with the publication of the Cherokee Ph a bilingual newspaper published by Elias Boudinot, a Cherokee who saw _ eracy as the root of the white man's power.

African American Press

In the early 1800s the largest minority community not being served by stream papers consisted of African Americans. The northern states had al:: ished slavery in 1804, but the African American population was invisible in the pages of local newspapers. African Americans' wecoma

The African American population was largely invisible in the pages of the mainstream press.

births, anniversaries, and deaths went unreported, and their concerns, dally their point of view about the struggles for nationwide H-U"'~"~ 'LL-'_" went largely unheard. To combat this, Freedom'sjournal, the first black paper, was established in 1827. Its editors were John Russwurm and Cornish. Russwurm was the first black to graduate from a college ill United States (Bowdoin, in 1826), and Cornish was a Presbyterian Although the paper lasted only two years, it proved that such an endercould succeed in spite of the poverty and forced illiteracy of much of irs dience. Between 1827 and the end of the Civil War, 40 additional American newspapers began publication.

penny press Inexpensive, advertisersupported newspapers that appeared in the 1830s.

newsprint

Inexpensive pcper used for newspapers.

The Penny Press -

The penny press appeared in the 1830s and began the era of inexpeesa advertiser-supported newspapers. The Industrial Revolution of the early century made the penny press possible. Printing technology had adv to the stage where newspapers could be produced inexpensively. Ne~-;veloped steam presses could reproduce copies rapidly and eventually c even cut and fold the papers. An inexpensive type of paper knor-z newsprint had been developed as well. Newspapers, however, whid; at about 6 cents a copy, were still beyond the means of the average (At the time 6 cents could buy three loaves of bread, a pound of bee: pint of whiskey.)

The New York Sun Benjamin Day is credited with creating the penny press; his New Yo which sold for one penny, appeared in 1833. Day, an ambitious 23-ye:=

78 PART 2 The Print Industries

newspaper could make a profit

jsjng income, as long as its content s~lfquiz -:: -::

ide enough readership. The audi- WhClt"Was the penny press, and what"Wbs its

;:: because many people had learned significance to, future media?

- .= advertising revenue was there be-

now needed to reach a wide audience that included the _ e, As far as advertisers were concerned, circulation-the total delivered to customers-was what was important. The - practice, standard today, of determining the size of the news amount of space that can be devoted to editorial content=r amount of advertising sold .

• ,IIIIiIII:::r"::lld' end Sensation

SEi: about attracting the readership of the ~ by stressing human interest stories His brand of journalism, called sensa:c-C exaggeration and lurid elements to ::!bg effect. Day achieved this effect by

., ....... .........,.'_J- and bloody police reports. The upper - sensational stories in the Sun as vulgar ::::>a...- didn't care.

"What could I do? It jumped off the newsstand."

© The New Yorker Collection 1993 Charles Barsotti from canoonbank.com. All Rights Reserved

.: ~ ew York Sun encouraged the ~y other penny papers. Although :3nued to stress sex and violence to .........=ence, some of them became the

~ of their day. They began by us~~::ss, and then the telegraph when it _·. __ ..._IO gather news from distant places. :-- roe to include the New York Herald, zmes Gordon Bennett in 1835; the _ published by Horace Greeley in

- ~ York Times, published by Henry J. Raymond in 1851.

~"""""""_-Jo- .... publishers and others like them are remembered today ~ an era of personal journalism, in which the beliefs and ec~ owners were as big a determinant of what went into the pa_ ~t could be called a news value. Joseph Medill, the - 'tbicago Tribune, was typical of this type of owner. Medill _,:Sed spelling, so his paper used words such as telegrajed

years, Medill believed in the power of sunspots to affect --:iCather to human behavior, and their potential effects had to ~ ~ stories. One day, Medill read about microbes and de=ere the true cause of natural phenomena. When a reporter a tory about how a plague there was probably caused by "Tent through the story and changed each appearance of the icrbbes.

news hole

Total amount of space in a newspaper that can be devoted to editorial content versus advertising.

sensationalism

Use of exaggeration and lurid elements to produce a startling effect.

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 79

The inverted pyramid style of hard news writing was developed during the Civil

shows the famous Civil War photographer Mathew Brady (center) in the field with his horse drawn processing wagon.

bylines

A line at the beginning of a news story giving the author's name.

inverted pyramid News style that packs the most important information into the first paragraph.

yellow journalism

A style of reporting characterized by unprecedented sensationalism; it reached its peak in the Hearst-Pulitzer circulation wars of the 1890s.

80 PART 2 The Print Industries

The Civil War Years

The establishment of the Associated Press in 1848 led to a more objective brand of nalism, as both political and personal points had to be tempered to fit in a range of papers (see the Close Up on box in Chapter 1). The AP also made the sentation of national news more timely, became important during the Civil War as zens sought the latest news from the Several journalistic conventions changed developed during the war. For example, the ement known as a byline-the line at the ginning of a news story giving the a name-was virtually nonexistent before war. For editors of that period, it was the that was important, not who wrote it. During the Civil War, bylines were tablished by order of the Union Army, whose leadership wanted to where reporters had received their information. Reporters and editors used to the practice. of printing writers' names and continued it after the

The Inverted Pyramid The inverted pyramid style of hard news writing was also developed ing the Civil War period. In this style (which, as noted in Chapter 1, the invention of the telegraph in 1844), writers packed the most information into the first paragraph of the story. Because the telegraph were undependable and might be cut by opposing forces at any time porters placed the "five Ws and one H" of who, what, when, where,

and how at the very beginning of the StOlY so that the facts had a chance of getting through before the line went down.

I The inverted pyramid style was at first used mostly for short news transmitted by telegraph but also became popular for longer news the following decades as knowledge exploded and people felt the get to the heart of reported information quickly. Most papers still use verted pyramid style for hard news, whereas features and human . pieces might build up to the basic facts slowly, taking the time to esrz, atmosphere first.

The industrial advances in the years following the Civil War boom times for American newspapers. Manufacturers and retailers' up advertising space to build the customer bases they needed for their produced goods. Newspapers throughout the United States helped country during the periods of postwar reconstruction and westward sion; their stories glorified the West, and their ads touted cheap Ian; travel.

Yellow Journalism

The successes of the penny press era led to the yellow jour-naftsm which increased competition among newspapers gave rise to sensationalism. Yellow journalism reached its height in the

ooI'3S the main character of one of the ::nmic strips, Hogan's Alley, published _' •• 'l,I,,~,<; New York World in 1895. The kid - from the slums whose real name

He was jug-eared, buck-toothed, and bald, his head having been shaved to rid him of lice. His most striking characteristic was his bright yellow nightshirt, a handme-down from his sister. R. F. Outcault, th~artiist who created the kid, was a master of layout, able to fill a page with dozens of humorous d~tails based on keen observation. Common people liked the kid because he and his fellow tenement dwellers often mocked high-society manners in ,events such as "The Horse Show as Reproduced atShanty" town," and activities such as "Golf-The Great Society Sport as Played in Hogan's~tley.1I

Critics denounced the strip for the violence it often portrayed, such as in a Fourth pf July panel showing children being blown intot,~fair, dogs running with firecrackers tied to theirfails, and flaming skyrockets hitting women and children as they fell down fire escapes while fleeing burning tenements.

In 1896, Hearst lured Outcault away from Pulitzer with a much higher salarYl and the Yellow Kid moved from the World ta/the Journal. Pulitzer, however, retained the title Hogan's Alley and hired another ortist=-o friend of Outcoult's-to continue dfYawin9 the'ponel. For a while, the two Yellow Kid comics were published at the same time.

~ of the 1890s. William Randolph

=-=-cl 'an Francisco publisher, moved self quiz

?Iblish the New York Journal and What was yellow journalism? ""here did the

':-~"'Ph Pulitzer's New York World. name come frol11?

~.:: any device they could in attempts

own circulation and put the other paper out of business. ,.... :lded everything from sensationalistic stories to the halftone :grnphs on newsprint. Another gimmick was color comics, a zrrel of the time, from which arose the terms yellow journalpress (see the Close-Up on History box).

York Journal and the New York World, lurid headlines _e:=t:s take up half of the first page, often conveying false imdency reached a high pitch in the days leading up to the

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 81

William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951), newspaper publisher, photographed around 1922. His circulation war with Joseph Pulitzer helped lead the United States into the SpanishAmerican war.

82 PART 2 The Print Industries

brief Spanish-American War of 1898. Many 'H~'L"'__

••••• ans blame Hearst and Pulitzer for encouraging United States to undertake this conflict, which gan with a local rebellion in Cuba against S rule. Both Hearst and Pulitzer sent squadrons of porters and artists to cover the revolt, and Journal and the World exaggerated Spain's against the rebels, at one point claiming thz; quarter of Cuba's population had been wiped by the Spanish when in fact there had been on: few casualties. Still, it seemed unlikely that

United States would become involved in the conflict, and so the noted Frederic Remington, who worked for the Journal, asked to be relieved of Cuban assignment. "Please remain," Hearst is said to have cabled him. _ furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war."

When the U.S. battleship Maine mysteriously blew up in Havana Hearst and Pulitzer declared the event another Spanish atrocity. As soor, the United States finally declared war on Spain, Hearst chartered a ship, fitted it with a printing press and composing room, and personally set

for Cuba with a staff ofreporters and photographers. Hearst even took reporting duties for a reporter who was wounded in a battle. Later, told the reporter, "I'm sorry you're hurt, but wasn't it a splendid fight? must beat every paper in the world!"?

THE MAKING OF THE MODERN PRESS

Today's newspapers pride themselves on investigative reporting, bility, and respectability. It may be hard to believe that these attributes isted in the era of yellow journalism, but they did take root and grow alongside the sensationalism of the time.

Investigative Journalism Some publishers in the era of yellow journalism, Pulitzer especially, to combine good reporting with their cheaper tricks." Following the magazine journalists, certain newspaper reporters began to champion

.: the common people and fight against corruption in high places. me beginning of investigative journalism, a style of reporting ::::n::JlEfS information that sources-including governments, corpora~ other powerful groups-have tried to conceal. Investigative re-':-as known for a time as muckraking, a style of writing we. will

_::.:t::;It: illrther in Chapter 4.

'::JSePh Pulitzer's most famous investigative reporters was a young :22lIled Elizabeth Cochrane, who wrote under the pen name Nellie

-= Oi Bly's first assignments with Pulitzer was to go undercover at a

-:!'~um. She pretended to be mentally ill to get herself committed.

::::..:tag headlines shrieked, "10 Days in a Madhouse," and the series of ~d bring about reforms to the treatment of women in mental fa== other investigations Bly posed as an unwed mother to expose a

~ .. :u~tet baby operation and stole $50 from a woman's purse to get ar,.... report on how women were treated in city jails. Another one of ::a~lS exploits was her trip around the world in 72 days, to beat the -_:-:: .. des Verne's fictional hero in Around the World in Eighty Days. Bly

"'" ~ me first reporters to place herself at the center of her stories. She me first and one of the most famous practitioners of stunt jour=:::.. which a reporter would perform some spectacular exploit to gain :w his or her story. Nellie Bly remains a model for both investiga.ffS and tabloid journalists.?

~011ant early investigative reporter was Ida B. Wells-Barnett. .~~:ett was a schoolteacher until she was fired for writing about the .... ""_..:zt suffered by African Americans. As a full-time journalist she became of Free Speech) an African American newspaper published in ""!'ennessee. She joined the investigative movement after one of her

ing her series of articles about lynching

mobbed and She was nearly lynched herself $

aklck grocer whose store had been successful against white comlynched. In 1895, she published A Red Record) first as a series _~~Jer articles and later as a book, exposing the long history of ra the United States. So incriminating was her series that Wells~per was mobbed and she was nearly lynched herself. Wellszs acclaimed for her investigative skills and the thoroughness with

...:::£ compiled her evidence, and her reporting eventually led to the ~g in Memphis for several decades.

_1r!II"'i.-.Tl" •• lity and Integrity in Journalism

::::::unalism began to squeeze out the excesses of yellow journalism _.,-" of the 19th century. As the market became saturated with sensa_ people felt the need for a more responsible press, one they r; ~ for information and not just use for entertainment and titillation. 1IIDi::::::7~'::' sensationalism stayed around, but for a while it became relatively and moved to the background of journalistic practices. Helping e=n the yellow journalism period was the responsible reporting of

~pers of the time: the New York Times) the Wall Street Journal) _,. ristian Science Monitor.

investigative Reporting that uncovers information that sources have tried to conceal.

stunt , .... , ....... , ....

Reporting that includes a spectacular exploit to gain publicity for the story.

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 83

The Wall Street Journal

Charles Dow and Edward Jones, two New England financial reporters. established the Wall Street Journal in 1889. Their paper was dedicated to battling the excesses of yellow journalism in the financial and business community. At that time, stock market manipulators floated rumors that drove the market up or down as they saw fit-rumors that the yellow papers were only too happy to print. The Wall Street Journal carried no large headline or photographs but soon established a reputation for providing honest and reliable information.

Today the paper is more influential than ever. The international business community relies on its information, advertisers rely on the prosperous national audience it delivers, and political conservatives rely on the influential voice of its editorial pages.'? It is the centerpiece of the huge international Dow Jones financial publishing empire, which brings readers the Dow Jones Industrials average from the stock market each day.

The New York Times

Adolph Ochs had bought the nearly bankrupt New York Times at the height of the yellow journalism period, in 1896. He was convinced that his paper could succeed commercially by offering an alternative to the sensational, trivial news that other papers were reporting. Under Ochs, the Times became the u.s. newspaper of record, the "gray lady of American journalism," a paper that printed, as it still proclaims on its front page, "All the News That's Fit to Print."

Along with fact-based, carefully researched reporting on the important events and issues of the day, the Times offered essential information such as stock quotes, business reports, analyses of governmental actions that would affect society, and full-text transcripts of important speeches and bills. Ochs also lowered the price of the Times to a penny. Today, the New York Times continues to enjoy its reputation as the newspaper of record, which is wh it reacted so vigorously to the Jayson Blair scandal discussed at the beginning of this chapter. The Times also stands at the center of a huge corporation that includes 27 newspapers, a wire service, and one of the best online news sites.

The Christian Science Monitor

The Christian Science Monitor was first published in 1908, also as a reaction to the yellow press. It was started by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science religion. Eddy was understandably put off by Joseph Pulitzer, who campaigned against her and her church. Eddy's belief tha; many diseases could be cured by faith rather than by medical treatment seemed to particularly incense Pulitzer, who used all his editorial influence to try to have Eddy declared insane. Eddy was even subjected to a formal sanity hearing, which was quickly dismissed.

Afterward, she set up the Christian Science Monitor as an objective sourer of news independent of commercial as well as political interests. She insisted that the Monitor was not to be a religious paper but rather a real newspaper that happened to be published by a church. Everything in the Monitorwoulc be hard news and nonreligious features, except for one religious article thz; would appear each day in the Home Forum section. The Monitor became respected newspaper that never wavered from its public service philosophy It stands today as a monument to Eddy, who founded the paper against incredible odds at a time when women didn't even have the right to vote in the

84 PART 2 The Print Industries

- The Christian Science Monitor still strives

-"'.::pendent voice, maintaining its own news

_: countries. Ironically, considering its founder's ):seph Pulitzer, the paper has won six Pulitzer

~"""'.....L.,C!. of respectable papers like the New York mean sensationalism had died out. The jour~~ent heated up again after the end of - .::__ fact, the 1920s are remembered as the era ,,_rnaJilsll£l because the energy of the newspaper

-=-..eled that of the music of the era. As the zhe number of u.s. newspapers had peaked -_ and 14,000 weeklies, all of which reflected ~ere of the Roaring Twenties. Many house-

"~::Deo to both a morning and an afternoon pa-=;voId hold the presses for breaking stories editions for important happenings. The s crv of "Extra' Extra! Read all about it!" be-

iournalism is most significant because it saw the birth of the -~~~ The New York Daily News, founded in 1919, was the first

- paper. Tabloids repeated the sensationalism of the yellow

- • iWO new features. The first was the abundant use of pho-

- ~ ingle image often taking up the entire front page. The

was the tabloid format itself: a smaller page than the tradi.:::etl papers, and a single fold, both of which made the paper .::....c on the street and on public transportation.

_=:t::s& and novelty became important facets of a tabloid story. were apparently more important than major treaties; an ~c"",,-,...,='" ~ cent into cannibalism got more space than a president's

:3.ZZ journalism died out toward the end of the 1920s, but the ,._ ",-ith us.

f Journalism

:::3Ction to jazz journalism and the tabloid press, a group of an association that they called the American Society of _ . They adopted an ethical code called the Canons of Jour;;;:;;:;::r vear." The canons stressed the following:

_ -Journalists must always consider the public's welfare. press-First Amendment rights are to be guarded as estionable.

ifuiness, accuracy-These three qualities are to be the - all journalism,

The New York Daily News was the first modern tabloid. This edition announces the Wall Street Crash of October 29, 1929, the beginning of the Great Depression.

jazz journalism

Style of news presentation of the 1920s that paralleled the music of the era.

tabloids

Newspapers characterized by a smaller size than a standard newspaper, a single fold, and abundant photographs.

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 85

11

I

I

5. Impartiality-News reports should be free from opinion or bias of any kind.

6. Fair play-Opposing views should be solicited on public issues and accusations; papers should publish prompt and complete corrections oil mistakes.

7. Decency-Papers should avoid "deliberate pandering to vicious instincts" such as details of crime and vice.

CONCENTRATION INTO CHAINS

Around the beginning of the 20th century American newspapers began to concentrate int chains. The chain, defined as one company tha owns the same type of company in more than on market area, was not a new idea. Benjarni Franklin started the first newspaper chain in the United States when h owned both the Pennsylvania Gazette and the New England Courant' 1729. Many other publishers followed Franklin's lead in the early years, bill the first one to make it work on a large scale, and therefore the one who' today considered the founder of the first modern newspaper chain, was Edward Wyllis Scripps.

The basic idea behind all chains, induding Scripps's, is to take advantage of economies of scale on administration, production, and distribution costs, Newspapers in a chain are able to share reporters, for example, for both features and hard news, and they can sell advertising space to all their papers at once. Scripps began his chain in Cleveland in 1878. His formula was tc buy or start a newspaper in a promising community and then find talented. hardworking young people to run it for him. By 1914, he had a chain of 3~ newspapers.

William Randolph Hearst, of New York Journal fame, became the nex; great chain owner. He owned 20 daily papers by 1922, along with two win: services, the largest newspaper feature syndicate, a newsreel company, ane:. a motion picture production company. Many other chains followed. ~ 1900, around 10 percent of U.S. dailies were chain owned. Critics at the time decried the fact that 1 in 10 papers was held by one of the "press baron .but the trend continued. By the 1980s, the figure had reached 40 percerr; Today it is 80 percent. Some of today's top chains are listed in Fact File 3.:_

LEADING THE NEWS PROCESS

The U.S. newspaper has particularly been the medium in which j6urnali = begins in the reporting of political events. Newspapers led the way in repocing the 1960s civil rights struggle in the southern United States, as well as tbe civil unrest surrounding the Vietnam War during the 1960s and early 197 - The New York Times and the Washington Post especially uncovered many stcries about the government's policies regarding the war in Vietnam, and pu lished a set of leaked government documents known as the Pentagon Pap in 1971. These documents proved that the U.S. government had been lea than honest with the American people about the conduct of the war.

chain

One company that owns the same Iype of business in more than one market area. '.

Watergate Coverage

Perhaps the best modern example of newspapers taking the lead over othe media in the news-gathering process comes from the Watergate scandal - 1972-1974. When police caught burglars breaking into the Democraz,

86 PART 2 The Print Industries

National Committee headquarters, located in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., two young Washington Post reporters, R ,Woodward and Carl Bernstein, were assigned to the story. On the advice an administration source indentified to this day only as Deep Woodward and Bernstein followed the money that had been paid to the glars and found that it had come from the Committee to Re-elect President (CREEP). They also traced the burglars back to the Intelligence Agency and the Nixon administration, unearthing a cover-up by Nixon and other top officials.

Nixon denied everything and insisted in news conferences that he never seen such "outrageous, vicious, and distorted" reporting. He was elected in a 1972 landslide. Woodward and Bernstein didn't give up, ever, and slowly newsmagazines and broadcast news outlets began to up the story. Further reporting provided increasing proof of Nixon's and Congress finally resolved to impeach him in 1974. The pressure lee Nixon's resignation in August of that year, an ironic end for a ·once-OC)DI:..JI president who had campaigned on a strict law-and-order platform.

Providing Context

Newspaper reporters continue to work around the clock to cover <1""1",1.,.., ing news stories and to provide background and meaning for both

and other news media. This role of providing context has been important in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; invasion of Afghanistan in 2002; and the war in Iraq that began in 2003.

CHANGING PUBLICATION PATTERNS

Before the 1960s, most newspapers were printed in afternoon or editions; since then, they have shifted to mostly morning editions. There several reasons for this shift. Up until the 1950s, people had little time fe: morning newspaper-they had to leave the house for their factory and ing jobs at dawn. Today's service jobs give people time to read the paper the morning, and commuters can take their newspapers with them. A!5 production and delivery became more expensive (and thus reduced papers' profits) as afternoon traffic congestion worsened in urban areas.

PART 2 The Print Industries

: j

.i.

~l trends also worked against after~ papers. Rather than heading home-to eat ~ paper, Americans began using their af-

.:::.. different ways, such as stopping at the ~ •• "''''''''-JJI,.JL"" born other media forms, especially the :xws, also helped spell the death of af-

~ have suffered from the competition :::l::) have also adapted to technological in~. pundits have declared various new ~ death of the newspaper industry. First

:::eIs. shown in movie theaters, with their __ "T __ ~ct and their large captive audiences. Saturday afternoon only whetted audi-

;:hat week's papers. Then came radio, "..:: 3 threat in the 1930s. But again, radio's !:!e seemed to encourage listeners to ~:ro\erage of newspapers.

- pundits again predicted that soon no ~ papers. But television turned out to

.~_"""_ service, once again whetting the pub-depth news arranged in a way that en_: and read what they wanted. When a IIIIlillOM ..... __ -=--'c presented by cable television, with its ______ ;:._=,;-oted to news, several newspapers em-

d:roology by setting up their own cable news programs. _;:::::e-al also adapted to television news by becoming more :::sing color photographs and other visuals and shorter, _ ~. This trend was encouraged by the establishment of rliscussed later in this chapter).

challenge to newspapers comes from the World Wide _!I'f"i~;r.=::s are again facing this threat by embracing it. By 1995, - ;:cinping millions of dollars into their own Web editions.

The Web is being embraced even by small local newspapers, as seen in the comprehensive Web site of the Mineral Wells Index, the hometown paper

of Mineral Wells, Texas (www.mineralwellsindex.com).

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 89

Newspapers are preparing for a future in which Web .. based news will be a maior source of income.

Though they have very little income yet to show for it, newspapers have be preparing for a future in which Web-based news is expected to be a majq source of advertising and database income. By 2004, nearly every u.s. news paper, including most small-town weeklies, had some kind of Web presen

Online news, along with radio and televisi

self quiz news, will be examined in Chapter 10. T

How are newspapers adapting to the Internet? chapter will also take a further look at the curr definition of the word news itself.

Understanding Taday's Newspaper

Industry

The newspaper industry is changing radically, and those changes are alter ing the way news is covered. Understanding this industry requires know' _ who owns today's papers; the types and varieties of papers that exist; way newspapers are staffed; which support services, such as wire serviceand feature syndicates, newspapers use; and the kind of relationship news papers have with their readers.

THE OWNERS

In the 1980s, chains began to acquire newspapers at a furious rate. The pri of newsprint had gone down, advertising rates were going up, and newsp"':pers looked like a better investment than ever. Plus, chains were rna . record profits, and if they used those profits to buy more papers, the'!" avoided corporate income taxes.

During a typical year, 75 to 100 U.S. daily newspapers will chan _ hands. Most pass from one chain to another. The concentration of newsps

During a typical year, 7 S to 100 U.S. daily newspapers will change hands ..

per ownership into giant chains has been extremely controversial, as marr critics believe that business values and news values often conflict. We W' discuss these controversies in the final section of this chapter.

THE NEWSPAPERS

A wide variety of newspapers make up today's industry, but newspapers generally categorized as either dailies, weeklies, or special interest papers

Dailies

As the term suggests, daily newspapers are those that come out every daat least Monday through Friday, although most of them publish weeken editions as well. Dailies are usually classified according to their geograph reach: national, metropolitan, or suburban.

90 PART 2 The Print Industries

:::e"1-spapers today are published for the national market and also have - amounts of international distribution. The Wall Street Journal, the Times, and the Christian Science Monitor were discussed in the section of this chapter. A relative newcomer, but a highly influential been USA Today. Several other papers-such as the Los Angeles :::e Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune-are essentially local ..:: publish a national edition as well. Fact File 3.2 lists the largest spapers.

-:-oday was the first newspaper to be designed from its inception for :::::i5tribution, and the first to distribute its content to printing plants -;=- Lnited States each day by satellite.P Its

;;:aphic approach has had a significant in- self quiz

the design and layout of other news- How does USA Today diHer from earlier

t::::' me Close-Up on Industry box and see

newspapers?

~ro:;r_""pers are local; their strength lies in presenting the in-depth 10- _offi1ation, and advertising that the other media don't handle as dailies can be major metropolitan papers such as the Houston small suburban ones such as the Democrat Reporter of Linden,

~~ the great metropolitan papers are mostly local in flavor and 3y mall circulations by international standards. The U.S. news~s local tradition is largely based on the importance of local _:r:::;;::::::L which is involved in everything from how garbage is collected schoolteachers are paid. In other countries, where those deci'" at the national level, national papers became the norm.

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 91

mple Front Page of USA Today The front page of USA Today I, and brief features that have influenced the layout of other newspapers.

-'--- Right ear:

Promotes feature stories.

=:;:==:=~~;;:~---- Talker:

~f"I~ri'lll Human interest story

people will be talking about.

--.,------ Lead:

Top news of the day, bold headline.

[~~~~~~~~- Main color art:

At least one half

should appear "above the fold," the top part of the

page that the reader sees in the window of the news rack.

: _1-'--- Color band:

Front-page ads.

of fast-breaking news, there may seem to be no place ze=spapers. Many such papers do exist, however, and they ~-left by the dailies. In small towns and suburbs, where there ~.~_ riews to justify a daily, weeklies supply a chronicle of local - weekly newspapers, known as shoppers, are free-distribution

shoppers

Free-distribution newspapers consisting mostly of ads.

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 93

(maani.~atioflal papers Newspapers published as part of an organization's communication with members.

press Publications that provide a different viewpoint on the news, usually one that is politcally radical or otherwise out of the mainstream.

underground press Alternative newspapers of

the 19605 and 1 9705 that passionately criticized cultural and political norms.

94 PART 2 The Print Industries

newspapers that consist mostly of ads but that also contain some news entertainment to attract extra readers. Some major dailies publish their weekly shoppers.

Special interest Newspapers

When we speak of dailies and weeklies, we usually refer to general newspapers that are designed to reach a wide and diverse audience.

is also a thriving industry of special interest newspapers, including tional papers, alternative papers, and ethnic papers.

The Organizational Press Organizational papers include all those published by business entities, ligious and educational institutions, and social groups as an integral part their organizational communication with members. Companies may put a weekly paper for their employees; industries and labor unions may port industry-wide papers; and nearly every college publishes its own paper, as do many religious groups.

Many organizations send out a free newsletter to their members. send out specialized information that people are willing to pay for. For ample, a thriving medium today is the newsletter that supplies premium formation to investors who want to know about potentially companies that haven't been discovered by other investors yet. Many newsletters charge their subscribers up to $2,000 a year for eight pages typeset text weekly, or its equivalent delivered by fax or e-mail. The UUH·',"",,'. Washington Letter is one of the oldest and most respected business ters. It began publishing in 1923 and now has an annual circulation of

than 275,000.

The Alternative Press

The term alternative press suggests to many pie the underground papers of the 1960s, but classification is broader than that. Alternative papers are those that ",.,"u •. ,,. ...... a different viewpoint on the news, usually one that is politically radical otherwise out of the mainstream. Some alternative papers are targeted ward cultural groups. For example, most major cities have at least one and lesbian publication such "as the Houston Voice Cwww.houstonvoice.coc or New York's LGNY(www.lgny.com). One such publication, Outweek, lished nationally in the early 1990s, gained notoriety for its practice of ing" public figures who were secretly gay or lesbian. There have several papers put out by prison inmates, and also newspapers by and the homeless, such as Street News in New York (www.othersides.com/stree news.htm) and Real Change in Seattle Cwww.realchangenews.org). In far: many smaller markets now carry papers for the homeless, such as the Night of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Art's Garbage Gazette of Wisconsin. As an alternative to panhandling, vendors sell these papers the goal of raising funds to get themselves, and others who work on publications, off the street. Foundation grants and donations finance homeless papers until they become profitable.

Some underground papers, and others like them, do still exist. underground press of the 1960s and 1970s offered a radical view of

@the ONION·

·'·,!3·jWijaqiMi?W'fii,iil@

*

·'!tir-H·jijifj+!,i

Jesus Demands Creative Control Over Next Movie

HOLLY\VOOJ), CA-Afl!!I watching Mel crbson's The .Prn;.~l!ill Of 'filii ChrL~1 Monday. QUI' Lord.and S!wiQJ' Jesus Christ announced that He will demand creative

"l never xhculd have given McI Gibson so much license," said Christ. the Son of Go,!. ~1 "1I:,o'\lil(,, rc.crnrctae iI member pJ the Ilcck, buithar dose-up of the MIHs being pounded Into My wrlsis_lh'lt was [ust bud."

Our Lord did not limit His (:filicism,~ to Gihwn's Passion; He expressed frustrutibnwhhhis\oricaiina«:uracif:sinnumerous fllm Il(bplali(Jn~ Q/ Hls life.

~'Thel'ehavebeennlotoffiJmsbasedon Mylirl1"and,prllltymuch.i;I!loftllemhaV\l gone» it W1'OI1!{;"Chrisi ~<ltd.".lu~l look at G_o(/sp<"U ..... :.vhl\l the hack was !lDing (HI

!.hen:?Jt:stimelred"imMY:~~pilge6 i -~ChrislpanshssiMafierseeiag:itilaNortbIloUywcodm~

Bush To Make Up Missed National Guard Service This Weekend

WASHINGTON. DC-in a move intended to dispel criticism Oller his Vletnnra-era military record. Pl'<lsld.,nl Bushannounced Monday thar he wi!! spend the weeke~d a\

the Sheppard Ai,. Force Base rnwtchna rens.Txto mase up hi~ missed National Guard service.

"My fellow Amertcans, let's pulul1endtothiscontrov\lJ1.-y,'· Bush said. "This weekend, I'll seeBUS8page8

teft:8o~!riesOlllisoldlJlliform.

-=-",--m>cu [0 question mainstream, middle-class values as well as many _::-::::::c~!.l practices. The original underground papers supported many were illegal at the time, such as abortion; today's versions also ~ illegal activities, such as recreational drug use.

- x; City's Village Voice (www.villagevoice.com), begun in Green-

-.;:: 6rring the beat era of the 1950s, was the first underground news-

such as the Berkeley Barb, appeared on and around college .::::. <:he 1960s. The Boston Phoenix (www.bostonphoenix.com), r (www.chireader.com), and San Francisco's Bay Guardian zn) are well-known alternative papers. Some of these have surative days very successfully and have become mainstream .1C3e:::; ;;;cday. The alternative papers are often advocates for minorities epinions, which is a role that has also been fulfilled by the eth-

~ ?ress continues to include foreign-language newspapers and

~ in English but aimed at a particular ethnic group, such as '_.'!!C::.:::~ms, Hispanics, or Native Americans. It continues to play an - ill the lives of new immigrants, although there are far fewer papers today than in earlier days. The 1,300 foreign Ian_""L:~~_e:s of 1914 now number only 500, mostly due to assimilation. -,.'=..- ~ e slipped into America's English-speaking mainstream, lured

- and other media. Ethnic radio and television stations have

::::r readership of these papers. In addition, today's immigrants with their native countries by inexpensive global cornmu.is not nearly as difficult as it was years ago.

One alternative newspaper, The Onion, features parodies of real news stories.

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 95

's;>3pers vary in terms of size and reader- have a similar staffing organization. As in industries, the publisher, who is often at owner, runs the individual newspaper and ....:e paper's chief representative-in-residence. ~oP makes all the major decisions about the editorial directions that the paper will esample, the publisher might decide to '-.n~·ihle rather than sensational stories, or to :::se circulation by reducing newsstand and prices.

-5 out the publisher's general orders is the :..:e editorial and business staffs. All papers basic divisions of editorial and business, ~ side making editorial decisions, such ies to cover, and the business side mak""=:::=::ss'" decisions, such as how to attract more _~:=c::o:;;~ __ ost journalists believe it is important to divisions separate. The separation be~ ~ ides is so important that most journal-

..." .... "-"- ~1 as "church and state."

Makes major decisions Oversees editorial and business

Business

Sells advedjsir.lg Prints and distributes

FIGURE 3.2 The Newspaper Staff The separation between the editorial and business departments is so important to most journalists that they refer to the two sides as "church and state."

_~~ staff includes editors and reporters. The head editor is usually _::.tnr in chief or executive editor, and various other editors report -= -= For example, there is usually a managing editor who oversees

- -~ operations of the newsroom. There is also an editorial

page editor who overseas the unsigned editorials that express - point of view, and the op-ed pieces that are signed columns, and guest editorials. The op-ed page gets its name from its .~::It== me paper, which is generally "opposite the editorial page." ~rs employ several other editors, such as the city editor and esiness, and features editors. At the larger papers these men and ~es do little actual editing; they are instead managers who :=;-= reporters, assign stories, and approve finished copy. At other do indeed edit: They question facts and phrasing. They regraphs and often rewrite leads for maximum impact. Other em~erl copy editors, make smaller changes in style, grammar, and

- _ rrimming the copy to fit a space and writing a headline. Wire coordinate the dispatches from the Associated Press and other and art, graphics, and photo editors are becoming increasingly rhat papers are becoming more visually-oriented. And there specialty editors at a major paper like the New York Times, ""'-nk~_""" 6 000 people. Of course, many other papers employ only a ~ers, and sometimes just a mom and a pop, so individuals lake multiple editorial functions.

_ per also employs several types of reporters. All of them seek write the early drafts. General assignment reporters can while beat reporters are assigned to particular areas such = __ businesses, or city hall. Much of the reporting is done in _·.__"-__"su pairs of reporters and photojournalists, the photographers -"_-' 2e photos published in the paper. With the Internet and spe_ ....... ~.<J, computers are an essential tool for most reporters.

publisher

In print industries, the person who runs an individual company and acts as its chief representative.

op-ed page

The section of the newspaper "opposite the editorial page" reserved for signed columns, opinion pieces and guest editorials.

general assignment reporters

Journalists who can find and write stories in any area.

beat reporters

Journalists who find and write stories in a specialized area.

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 97

The Business Staff

The business side of a newspaper's staff includes the advertising, prcxL. tion, and circulation departments.

Ad~

Newspaper advertising departments include sales representatives for display and classified ads, as well as layout people who work with di ads. Like the news stories themselves, classified ads seldom appear on pa" now before the newspaper is actually printed. The salesperson takes the

formation and keys it into a computer file that is sent to the comp oom. Because newspapers rely on advertising revenue to make money, - epartment is of great concern to the publisher. It was advertising de ents that lobbied for, and won, specialty sections in newspapers on -:es ate, food, automobiles, and so on in order to create an amenable err

r nment for ads for related products.

Production

I

The production department at a newspaper runs the presses, which are - coming increasingly sophisticated as papers become more visual. The ~ ished page is photographed directly from the editor's computer file orne special plate by photo-offset printing, in which the negative image h the ink and transfers the image onto the newsprint as it flows through - press. Technology has led to a considerable amount of automation in - printing process. At many plants, large robot devices move the giant rolls newsprint automatically from a warehouse into the press position, andflow of the ink and the speed of the paper are both controlled by comp

Circulation

self quiz

In any print media company, the circulation department is the divi that manages distribution and sales. A newspaper's circulation departme arranges for the delivery of the finished papers from the printing plant newsstands and homes, as well as to grocery stores, bookstores, and v ing machines. This department makes sure that the papers get out on - and keeps track of the unsold copies that are returned. It is also in charge

promotions to increase circulation and reaship such as college programs in which stud are given half-price subscriptions for newsp that are used in classes.

What are the major $tClff posifions On a newspa-

per, and what are the responsibilities of each?

SUPPORT SERVICES

Newspapers make use of a wide range of supplementary services-that ~ port their operations, including wire services, syndicates, and the Bureau of Circulations.

photo-offset printing Technique in which a photo negative transfers ink onto paper.

circulation department The division of a print media company that manages distribution and sales. .

Wire Services

The Associated Press CAP) is the world's best-known and most prolific service, with hundreds of bureaus collecting news in a hundred diff countries and distributing it in half a dozen different languages. The AP ~ cooperative, which means that reporters at its member news organizati (including television, radio, and online outlets as well as newspapers) local stories in if they have potential regional or national appeal. The edt:;

98 PART 2 The Print Industries

___: deode k those stories will go out along with those of its own reporters. e::n::afl'''!, th~ AP's biggest competitor was United Press International (UPI), -vas forntedin 1958 when E. W. Scripps's United Press merged with Randolph Hearst's International News Service. Both of these services formed in the early 1900s to compete with the AP. They merged

neither was profitable; but despite its combined resources, the UPI 11:::::::::=00 to experience financial troubles. Today, the UPI is owned by the ~Iyung Moon, the charismatic leader of the Unification Church.P ~ news only to Internet news organizations.

-,=r major international wire services include Agence France-Press, in Paris, and Reuters, of London, which is developing an -=::=z= market for online news. There are also several specialized and news services, including Dow Jones, the New York Times

~ and the Washington Post/Los Angeles Times Service. Some ~xh as Gannett, also have their own wire services. Some supple~, such as the Business Wire and the Public Relations Wire, sup~ercial news to newspapers.

syrulicates act as brokers for newspaper feature items such as _ - and crossword puzzles. Feature syndicates also carry columns ~n writers such as Dave Barry and Liz Smith, as well as games,

~ serialized books, and editorial cartoons. The papers pay_£~~ ::s....=d. which enables them to run material from cartoonists arid::." """""_...,...: ~ they could never afford to hire full time. The biggest f~_3:tDie ''''';; zre United Media (owned by Scripps-Howard), King F:eitun:'s >-

..:::. =-914 by William Randolph Hearst), Tribune Media -S~rv~es ~e Chicago Tribune chain), North American Syndic:lte~(oWn~d -::

_ och) , and Universal Press Syndicate. _,c '_-: _,-:;-

- .......... ,,:..

per editorial device in the years following the Civil War, and they quickly , they are must-sees for many readers, and they often set the tone for the

- ,they present images that can be more devastating than words. The cartoon

-sGreen Bush from the New York World, 1903, shows Theodore Roosevelt

3.zcp's 2004 cartoon [on the right] accuses George W. Bush of using the same .. ~=- "n policy. By-permisstot: of Paul Szep and Creators Syndicate, Inc.

feature syndicates Brokers for newspaper entertainment and specialty items.

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 99

I

Audit Bureau of Circulations

The Audit Bureau of Circulations supplies an extremely important sern to newspapers by verifying circulation figures for advertisers. The bureau v-:: established in 1914 as a not-for-profit association by advertisers, adverti - agencies, and publishers (including magazine publishers) who came tog to establish standards and rules for circulation reporting. They created the sociation to verify circulation reports by audit and to provide indepen

and therefore credible and objective, inform - to the buyers and sellers of print advertising. bureau also audits Web sites. Most newspa and magazines are members, along with most jor advertising agencies.

Changing Patterns of Readership

In colonial days, tavern readership of newspapers was marked by interactire and argument, in which news stories served as what one historian desc . as "gambits, provocative first moves in a game the reader would ther play."14 Newspapers of the 19th century were usually read to the family interpreted by the man of the house. Twentieth-century news saw the -=anchor assume that role, and some observers believe that today's Inte news returns us to the spirit of the tavern as people discuss news items z forums of various types.

self quiz

What are the major support services that newspap~rs rely On, and what does -. ~ach provide?

Red Eye is a condensed version of the Chicago Tribune that is designed to attract younger readers.

Audit Bureau of Circulations

An association that verifies newspaper and moqczine distribution.

1 00 PART 2 The Print Industries

THE READER

There are two ways to characterize newspa_ readers. The first is to recognize that diffe newspapers attract different types of readers, clever list of types of newspaper readers that culated recently on the Internet read, in part

follows:

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the peo;:: who run the country.

2. The New York Times is read by people whc think they run the country.

3. The Washington Post is read by people wlx think they should run the country.

4. USA Today is read by people who think theought to run the country but don't really understand the Washington Post. They do, however, like their smog statistics shown ilL pie charts.

5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people :... . wouldn't mind running the country, if the, -.--- could spare the time, and if they didn't hi =

.to leave L.A. to do it.

Sucli a list might or might not be accurate, bu; does point out that when we talk about .newspaper reader" we are talking about a divers audience. Still, there are certain things we can about the typical reader, including the fact patterns of readership have changed over time.

~ in readership naturally affect the _......__ ;:: + ille industry. Over the years, for exam-c._"-_= moved from the cities to the suburbs,

- stry followed as city papers died and

::::.;::::"nn papers were born. As mentioned ~n papers died as work schedules _ .... "'"~._ ~ing more time for morning reading, - "'" ~an to look to television for their evening news.

~-spaper industry's point of view, an alarming trend among __ .•.. _ ~s of readership is a generally lower circulation and, more lower readership among young people, who are failing to take

1IiI-..-..::r~laper-reading habits of their parents. The average age of today's .1I1i~,,::::::::~:::::::ader is 53.15 The industry worries about its future readers, es.....;:'f" many advertisers want to sell to people ages 18 to 25.

_.:::... leaders might still use newspapers to figure out movie times or __ on sports scores, but not for the kind of in-depth analysis of ::;:;;e papers do best. Newspapers are, however, making extra ef::::;::ert with today's increasingly distracted and time-pressed young ~ Kansas City Star, for example, has developed a section written ~gers. Other papers have beefed up their coverage of rock .......=-oriented movies, college life, and social issues of interest to =- Several publishers have put out free condensed papers in a designed to attract younger readers .

."....., c;: 3esigned to be of interest to the younger reader is public jour.:::::5lIOYation of the 1990s, public journalism, also called civic jour:: newspapers to become involved in, rather than just covering, .ssees. Public ~[ lead a

een reportI r.::::ializing but also creates a conflict of interest because ....::z7.: become directly involved in civic improvement are in ~11_"f']M ::::e local news that they should be reporting objectively. ;nblic journalism say that anything that strengthens the bonds -m. __ ..... per and community, and encourages readers to become _ m their own communities, is a good thing that should be

Public [ournolisrn is alive and well in the ,college press. In

the Media World CD that accompanies this book (Track 10), NBC News reports on a group of college [ournolism students whose investigation freed a wrongly accused death row inmate. Here the inmate, Anthony Porter, is greeted by family members upon his release.

public journalism Reporting that becomes involved in, rather than just covering, community issues.

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 101

Controversies

The debate over public journalism is just one of the controversies that modern newspaper industry engenders. Other major controversies affe the newspaper industry derive from the ways that' the industry is chan in reaction to changes in media economics and society. Two such chan involve concentration of ownership and diversity in the newsroom, bo which are controversial because they affect the way news is covered.

CONCENTRATION OF OWNERSHIP

There are many advantages and disadvantages to chain ownership. C' point out that chains tend to create local newspaper monopolies because most powerful chain-owned paper in the community tends to kill oE competitors. In fact, the great majority of communities now have just daily newspaper, most likely owned by a cham." Critics fear that this duces the diversity of opinions that readers have available to them. ~ chains respond that they are interested in profits, not editorial policy. most of them allow their editors and reporters to develop their own 0 ions. Also, they say, with the great diversity of news outlets today-inC±

The relentless bottom-line attitude of a typical newspaper chain can mean poorer quality iournalism.

ing broadcast, cable and Internet sources-no one need worry about a to a diversity of viewpoints. Finally, the chains argue, in many case - community also benefits, with a better paper that can afford to practi higher level of journalism.

Critics respond that in some small cities with a chain-owned newspa:none of the local television or radio stations have the resources to pro much local news, so in fact the chain-owned paper is the dominant voice local news. There may well be a diversity of information available on tional and international news through television and the Internet, but c owned papers do choke off the competition for local news. And rarely "a better paper that can afford-to-p-ractice a higher level of journalism."

In fact, according 10 'most critics, the typical chain's relentlessly bo line business orientation will mean poorer journalistic performance. After chains are famous for continually demanding higher profits from owned papers. To reach these levels of profitability, most chains will lay a large number of staff members when they first take over. Sometimes, - will require all the staff members to reapply for their jobs.'? The chain ~ then replace highly paid veterans with young staffers right out of co ' who can be paid as little as possible. When these staffers gain experi they are encouraged to move on so that the paper can hire someone less experienced at an even lower salary.

Some chains like to garner national journalism prizes such as Pulitzers publicity purposes, so they support some talented veterans who work on jor pieces. Even that, however, leaves few

self quiz sources for local news. Critics complain that

chain owners are sometimes not sufficiently

Wh~tarethe eHects, both pro and con, of chain quainted with the community to know wbc

ownership of newspapers? prominent enough to merit an obituary or wte corrupt enough to warrant an investigation

1 02 PART 2 The Print Industries

-Up on Controversy box). The managers of newspaper conglorneroowever, insist that chains often use their substantial outside resources up to local corruption and have won many prizes for doing so.

:::nad controversy attracting considerable heat is the lack of diversity in

d for Diversity

_9-0s, following several urban riots, the National Commission on the

E Violence pointed out that the lack of a minority viewpoint in the ":: press was partially to blame for the alienation from society many ~ ups felt. Minorities and nonminorities saw the world differently. _ communities felt that white reporters were insensitive to the nu~~ racial slights and ethnic stereotypes. They were often offended by .::nages in wording, pictures, and story placement. White reporters _ black politician critically, for example, would often do so in ways

"-- considered racist" Minority reporters tended to choose different ia£ their stories than white male reporters did and had different when it was appropriate to identify someone by color.

"~:ts to Increase Diversity

pt to make newsrooms more diverse, the American Society of Editors (ASNE) resolved in 1978 that minority employment in _"..--~ hould match the percentage of minorities in the population.

:::::::::ployment slowly increased for more than 25 years, but by 2004

l 3 percent of daily newspaper iournalists are African American, Hispanic, l_·._·""",· can, or Native American.

_::::alt of local newspapers had a percentage of minority employed the percentage of minorities in their community. Critics of ess pointed out that many papers were still mostly white in !I-_....c~ that were largely minority. The Independent in Gallup, New

example, had an all-white newsroom and a community that was

white.'? .

_-_~ __ Iinle less than 13 percent of daily newspaper journalists were ~ Asian American, and American Indian in 2004, while the u.s. n reported that nearly 32 percent of the U.S. population be:=.:JSie four groups." Women fared somewhat better, making up ~t of the newspaper workforce, but even that number seems -=en you consider that women make up 70 percent of the stualism schools and university communication departments."

. hers have responded to the controversy over diversity by difficulty attracting qualified minorities, especially to small _ -: pay very well. Publishers say they are indeed concerned; :!ewsrooms to be more diverse, not only as a matter of basic because a more diverse staff will help win new readers _=.:-.::!s of minority communities. Some papers have appointed

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 1 03

committees made up of reporters, editors, and outside consultants ual "content audits" to assess how minorities and women are -~~-"",_. _ _:: in pictures and print. Most say they aggressively recruit minorities. say, it is difficult to raise the numbers when minority reporters :0 better-paying jobs in related fields such as public relations. -" ........ """".!I. schools produce only around 750 minority journalists annually,

- same number that leave the profession each year.

~ve critics say that the newspaper industry is too interested in _---~ minority reporters. They point out what happened in the Jayson -_ as discussed at the beginning of this chapter. These critics say that IDe ew York Times gave Blair too many chances because they concerned with keeping their newsroom diverse and not con~ about quality journalism.

"'r.:!y Organizations

-=Ihe problems minorities have faced in getting hired and working ~m, a number of organizations exist to promote their interests . ..:::.'::xIe the National Association of Black Journalists (www.NAB].org),

" __ -"'L..=!cAssociation of Hispanic Journalists (www.NAHJ.org), the Asian "': .. ~-' Journalists Association (www.AAJA.org), the Native American ociation (www.NAJA.com). and the National Gay and Lesbian _~~ Association (www.NGLJA.org).

ONTROVERSIES

-,..,..~~""'" deal with other controversial issues every day. Throughout this _ ~ye referred to controversies about the way news is covered, -~ of the partisan press to the establishment of USA Today. This :.=current theme throughout this book and will be dealt with in

- ill later chapters. Political bias and news as entertainment, for ~ be discussed in Chapter 10, which looks at the various forms - news. Fairness, accuracy, and sensa-

--e topics in Chapter 15. Advertiser influ- i self quiz

~~- paper content will be dealt with in and legal issues such as libel and inva....... ~_ ....... _.- are discussed in Chapter 14.ffiQjor i5~'~?

CHAPTER 3 Newspapers 1 OS